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Literally just changed the oil 3 days ago at a quick lube place. It has 5w30 in it. Guy at advanced auto said to use Lucas oil treatment and it will coat things better? What are the most common oil leaks on these cars? I have a leak that is burning off in the block or exhaust and it's pissing me off

it's between the engine/transmission and is huge. but it's between the housing on the front of the trans and the engine so you can't really see it. you can get glimpses of it and narrow access to remove the torque converter bolts (like if you're pullnig the engine/trans) but otherwise it's not a part you ever look at for any reason.

if the TC is bad then you have to pull the engine/trans to replace it. subaru TC's almost never fail though, i'm sure it can but i've never seen it happen.

Ive never worked on or dealt with AWD before.

they're really easy. an AWD subaru and FWD subaru are the same thing really - there's no difference in terms of "working on them" except just a few more parts on the back of the trans and the rear of the car. when i converted my AWD to FWD i didn't even change the ECU or TCU....been driving it 50,000 miles like that!

you can convert AWD to FWD or FWD to AWD all day long, it's not that hard on a subaru because they're so similar. all that to say - hang in there for the learning curve, Subaru's and AWD are actually really easy to work on.

i work on my friends cars all the time and it's a rare day when they seem easier than Subaru's except for subaru's horizontally opposed engine doubling the amount of work for a headgasket, seals, and valve work, etc. but that layout makes more common things really simple, like 15 minutes to replace an alternator, a/c or power steering pump, so it's a trade off.

Yea, I learned how easy the alternator is to remove when I had to change the sensor under neath it, I took it off, didnt have the right size socket to take the sensor out, had to put it back together and go get the right socket then redo it all. And it was 100 degrees out. Working in the sun sweating my rump roast off. Also, somebody thought that it would stop leaking oil from that sensor if they made a gasket between the sensor and the threaded section it screws into (then into the block) So I had to put the socket on the sensor, then put a cresent wrench onto the other side and bust my rump roast to twist it loose. Then put everything back together with the new sensor. Sucked, but I got it done. Also got a new belt on because the old one was missing sections.

Anybody know common oil leaks on the EJ22 motors? Im leaking somewhere and either burning on the block or exhaust(or something else??) But cant seem to see it really.

seriously - mine looked that bad too (actually, still does, havent cleaned it yet, but the leaks have been stopped)

Lots of "small" leaks add up to a very ugly mess under these cars.

in mine's case, it was cam covers, oil pan, oil pump, and oil seperator plate on the back - leaks were so bad that the back end of my car (as in the lift gate & back glass) had an oily/dirty film on it....

motor got pulled almost 2 months ago and got a reseal & timing job done, and got stuffed back in all in one day - actually, one afternoon.
now, when i stop at the gas station it is fill the tank & check the oil, instead of check the tank and fill the oil...

grab a couple cans of Engine Brite, hit the local carwash and clean things up as best you can, then keep a close eye on things to determine where your leaks are coming from.

So can I just spray the crap out of the motor? Or do I need to stay away from certain areas? Or should I just not use the high power spray? Keep it on a lower setting? I dont want to ruin something else while trying to find where my leaks are... Haha.

Thanks so much fellas, going to pull my car on the ramps right now and check the rear driveshaft and everything around it.

So can I just spray the crap out of the motor? Or do I need to stay away from certain areas? Or should I just not use the high power spray? Keep it on a lower setting? I dont want to ruin something else while trying to find where my leaks are... Haha.

Thanks so much fellas, going to pull my car on the ramps right now and check the rear driveshaft and everything around it.

Caution young grasshopper, spray where you see all the oil gunked up and try to stay away from sensors. The purpose is not to use as much of the product as possible but to judiciously clear a path. You don't need to get the engine sparkly clean at this point.Until you eliminate all the leaks, perhaps you can start a sideline business sealing asphalt driveways by parking there overnight.

Caution young grasshopper, spray where you see all the oil gunked up and try to stay away from sensors. The purpose is not to use as much of the product as possible but to judiciously clear a path. You don't need to get the engine sparkly clean at this point.Until you eliminate all the leaks, perhaps you can start a sideline business sealing asphalt driveways by parking there overnight.

If you're thinking of using a power washer on the engine, don't.
Purple power and a water hose. Clean it with the engine warm. Don't spray too much around electronics, the alternator, or the spark plug wires.

To really check the driveshaft you need to remove the heat shield and expose the entire shaft. There are three U joints in the driveshaft, and a carrier bearing in the middle that holds up the back end of the front section of the shaft.

As for the oil leak, valve covers, cam seals, crank seals, separator plate, are all extremely common leak points. The only one not doable with the engine in the car is the separator plate, because it's between the engine and transmission inside the bell housing.

some more hands on diagnosis would be good. when you can't see, touch, or maneuver around a car we need as much help as we can get. we can't clean the oil off and see what happens, you have to do that. we can't remove the driveshaft, you have to do that. we're good, but we're not that good.

To really check the driveshaft you need to remove the heat shield and expose the entire shaft. There are three U joints in the driveshaft, and a carrier bearing in the middle that holds up the back end of the front section of the shaft.

You checked the U-joint at the end of the driveshaft by the diff, the u-joint that's going is the one at the opposite end of the driveshaft up at the transmission. That's why you hear noise under the shifter, because that's where the u-joint at the front of the driveshaft is.

Put both ramps on the same side of the car, so you can slide under from the drivers side and get the heat shield off and check the u-joints.

The slop in the rear axles is normal. The knobs you were seeing are rubber covers for the rear camber and toe alignment bolts.

Hopefully Ill get to do this today... But I for real have to get this oil leak fixed. It doesnt leak when sitting, but only when driving. Does that give a clue as to what it might be? I changed the oil last week and it doesnt even hit the bottom of the dipstick now..... This is bad...

And your driveshaft is more serious than an oil leak. When that wipes the rear of the transmission and the shifter out, you won't be going anywhere. You can keep pouring oil in and it'll keep going. Priorities mate!

If you're thinking of using a power washer on the engine, don't.Purple power and a water hose. Clean it with the engine warm. Don't spray too much around electronics, the alternator, or the spark plug wires.

purple power is better then simple green? when I take the engine out I plan on giving it a good scrub under and on the sides so I can at least tell if I have any leaks after everything is done.

purple power is better then simple green? when I take the engine out I plan on giving it a good scrub under and on the sides so I can at least tell if I have any leaks after everything is done.

I dunno I never use simple green. I have read that simple green corrodes aluminum. I just buy purple power because it's usually like $3.50 for a gallon at the parts store. Sometimes they have the big 2 gallon jugs for like $6. I dilute it roughly 3:1 with water and it lasts a long time. I don't ever see simple green at the places I shop around here so I have no idea if it's any more cost effective.

your oil leak sounds about as bad as mine was - didnt leak so much sitting still, but driving? yeah....oil all over the back side of the car from it blowing back. i was dumping at least one quart a week in (sometimes 2) and i didnt drive all that much!

when you pop the hood next - take a look on the passenger side, at the seam where the motor and tranny meet - if it is oily looking way up high on that seam - it is more than likely the seperator plate on the back of the motor that is the biggest culprit (was on mine). that requires pulling the motor to fix it.

Do yourself a favor before it's too late... Pop a fuse into the FWD fuse holder near the passenger side strut tower to lock it into FWD. If the problem goes away, then my bet is that somebody changed some combination of the tranny/diff, and now the front diff no longer matches the rear one. I got the same torque converter code (0740) while experiencing a vibration like you describe, and discovered that I put in a tranny that was not the year that the seller told me it was. I have been driving the car in FWD mode for about a year now with no troubles. One of these days I plan to change the rear diff to match the front on but I haven't gotten there yet.